Data obtained by Times of San Diego reveals that San Diego police officers are using force more often in encounters with residents, despite a decline in the city’s crime rate. The article notes that racial disparities in SDPD’s use of force has been previously observed, and cites the Justice Navigator Assessment CPE conducted for the department back in 2021, which analyzed the SDPD’s policing practices and where racial disparities were present.
The report found that 26% of all use-of-force incidents reported between 2016 and 2020 were against Black people, even though Black residents only made up 6.2% of the population of San Diego. White people, on the other hand, who represented 43% of San Diego’s population, had 38% of all use-of-force incidents. Hispanics, according to the report, accounted for 31% of all use-of-force incidents, but made up of 40% of San Diego’s population.
While the 2021 report was the first of its kind, no similar report has been conducted since.
Read the full article at the Times of San Diego’s website.